Bible Study Process

Acts 17:10–11 KJV 1900

And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV 1900

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Google it. That is the answer to most questions we have. But should it be the answer to questions we have about the Bible? The internet does offer excellent Bible interpretations, but learning and applying the Bible happens best when we systematically work through a passage on our own.

The Bereans were commended for searching the Scriptures to make sure the teaching they received lined up with God's Word. Their mindset is needed today, even with the conveniences of Google.

1 . Use the following scenario to help your learners consider the factors needed to understand a piece of literature.

While out of the office, an employee sent a text message to three fellow employees to let them know his whereabouts. But he accidentally sent the text to three strangers living overseas instead of to his co-workers. The text read, "Went to grab a bite. Be back in a jiffy. Don't start the shindig without me.

All the unsuspecting recipients of the text have a limited understanding of English, but they each tried to translate the note anyway. The first person focused on the first line and believed the sender went to buy computer memory. The second person interpreted the second line to mean the sender will return in a giant jar of Jiffy peanut butter. The third person, who translated the last line, believed the sender would be returning to perform invasive shin surgery. None of the recipients of the text, of course, are entirely sure they have their interpretations correct.

2. Discuss the scenario. ASK: What would the recipients of the text need to know to understand the text correctly? Who the author is,' the author's intentions; who the intended recipients are; a better understanding of English language, including grammar and slang; an understanding of the author's culture.

ASK: Could any one of the three interpretations be valid? Explain. An argument could be made for the validity of each interpretation, but the author's intent keeps any of them from being truly valid. 3. Transition to the Bible lesson.

This lesson focuses on discovering authorial intent and lays the foundation for the rest of the course. Some literature teachers think a reader's understanding of a passage means more than the author's intended meaning. So Shakespeare, for example, can mean vastly different things to different people. In studying the Bible, though, ignoring the author's intent while searching for a personal meaning leads to error. If the message intended by the author makes little or no difference, then the Bible can be construed to say whatever people want it to say.

The Focus of Bible Study

Recognize authorial intent

We never write personal notes or texts with the intention that the readers can interpret them any way they wish Authors, including Bible authors, write with the assumption that the reader will determine and accept their intentions.

Philippians 4:13 KJV 1900

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

ASK: On the surface, what does this verse seem to teach? That God will help a person do the impossible.

People could twist Philippians 4:13 to include dunking a basketball or passing a test without studying. But when their dunk falls short or they get a failing grade, their interpretation, not the message, would be to blame.

Most believers are unaware of the process a pastor, author, or Bible teacher follows to yield a correct Bible interpretation. The believers accept the interpretations without a second thought.

Acts 17:10–11 KJV 1900

And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

ASK: Why might someone consider the Bereans' searching of Scripture to be rude to Paul and Silas? It appeared they didn't trust Paul and Silas.

ASK: How does Luke's description of the Bereans underscore the wisdom in honoring the author's intent in Scripture above anyone's interpretation? Luke called the Bereans noble for searching the Scriptures in order to make sure Paul and Silas were true to the author's intent. If questioning Paul is noble, then questioning anyone's interpretation is too.

ASK: What is the danger in accepting interpretations without giving any thought to their validity? People could potentially accept and apply bad interpretations.

The recipients of the text in the scenario we read to open this session could not know the author's intentions unless they investigated the author, including his language and his intended recipients. Without that needed knowledge, the recipients each took parts of the text and came up with a radically different take on it. They all misinterpreted the text and missed the author's intent.

The author's text had only one valid meaning—the one he meant when he wrote it. The fact that the text recipients failed to understand what he meant didn't change his intended meaning.

We must not bow to the segment of literary culture that directs the reader to determine meaning apart from the author's intention. If someone invents his own meaning for the apostle Paul's words, then the meaning is his, not Paul's. That person can make no claim he or she understands what Paul wrote.

ASK: What happens to the power of Scripture when people begin to interpret it according to their own desires rather than according to God's intentions? Scriptures remain powerful only as they are interpreted according to the author's, not the interpreter's, intentions.

The apostle Paul instructed Timothy to preach the Word even when people didn't want to hear the truth of God's Word (2 Tim. 4:2-4). No pastor has a right to adjust or change God's Word to yield interpretations that please his audience.

Determine authorial intent

In the text scenario, consider the components that would have given the recipients access to the author's intended meaning. First, the recipients needed a language course and dictionary to get a better grasp of English grammar, syntax, and slang. Second, they needed to learn about the author so they could put his words into the context of his life. Their understanding would be even dearer if they also had knowledge of the intended recipients. Learning the author's cultural setting, namely the practice of eating at fast food restaurants, would help too.

Interpreting the Bible is extra challenging because of the nearly two thousand-year gap between now and when the last books of the New Testament were written. And the first manuscripts of the Old Testament were penned another fifteen hundred years before that. Can we understand the ancient Bible texts, discerning God's intended message? We can, for we have access to information about Bible authors and their languages, allowing us to accurately determine authoriai intent. We can be certain that we know an author's intent and the meaning of Biblical texts.

Matthew 5:43 KJV 1900

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

ASK: According to Matthew 5:43, how did the rabbis interpret the Leviticus 19:18 passage? They added hating their enemy to the command to love their neighbor.

Matthew 5:44 KJV 1900

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

ASK: How did Christ's interpretation differ from the rabbis' interpretation? Christ interpreted "neighbor" to include one's enemies.

Matthew 5:45 KJV 1900

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

ASK: In Whom was Christ's interpretation rooted? The Father and His treatment of His enemies.

Turning to the Father for the interpretation of Leviticus 19:18 was Christ's way of emphasizing the importance of discovering God's authorial intent. Verse 18 was a direct quote given to Moses from God (1 9:1). So interpreting the verse can't be divorced from God and His character. But that is exactly what the rabbis did.

ASK: What did the rabbis need to know about God, the author of Leviticus 19:1 8, before they could come to the correct interpretation? That God loves all people.

ASK: Where could they get such information? From Scripture and from observing God's goodness in blessing all people to some degree (Ps. 65:9-13).

The rabbis failed to take what they knew about God into account when they interpreted Leviticus 19:18.

The apostle Paul instructed Timothy to study God's Word until he rightly understood it (2 Tim. 2:1 5). Implied is that we can understand God's intent for a passage as we devote ourselves to studying it.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV 1900

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The Process of Bible Study

There are three major steps in the Bible study process. In this session, we will define those steps and briefly consider them. Properly applied, the steps will lead us to a passage's intended meaning and to the opportunity to be equipped for service by God's Word (2 Tim. 3; 1 6, 1 7).

Observation

Observation means to examine a passage. We observe the words in the text and consider how they fit together to form a structure that communicates a message.

Most of the Bible study process takes place in the observation step. It requires time and thought. Rushing the observation step could result in a bad Bible interpretation or application. In the previous session we talked about taking time to meditate on a passage of Scripture. Meditation begins in the observation step and continues to a degree in the interpretation and application steps.

Psalm 1 KJV 1900

Blessed is the man That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

ASK: In the previous session we looked at verses 1-3. What do you learn about the passage by adding verses 4—6?

ACTIVITY: Have the students reread Psalm 1 again and then spend a minute or two thinking about it. Have them share any additional observations.

Interpretation

Bible interpretation is like putting a puzzle together in that it brings together the observations in one cohesive message. To interpret is to explain the meaning of the text.

Interpretation is not open to personal opinion. Nor should our interpretation of Scripture be colored by whether the passage offends us. The Bible is plain and forthright. Our interpretations of a passage should be the same.

2 Kings 22:8–13 KJV 1900

And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the Lord. And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king’s, saying, Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.

ASK: How seriously did Josiah take Scripture? He reacted to the reading of it by tearing his clothes as a sign of repentance.

2 Kings 22:14–17 KJV 1900

So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her. And she said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.

ASK: Why might Josiah have been tempted to downplay or soften the Scriptures he read? Israel was living in disobedience to God by worshiping false gods.

Josiah humbly submitted to God's Word (2 Kings 22:18-20). There is no evidence he tried to explain it away or intentionally misinterpret it.

An accurate Bible interpretation requires study tools. For instance, since the Bible was written in languages we do not know, we need tools to guide us to the correct meaning of specific words used in the texts we are studying. And since the Bible was written to cultures we don't fully understand, we need other tools to shed light on a passage's setting. In a later lesson, we will examine study tools that will aid Bible interpretation.

A good way to test whether we have interpreted a passage is to restate the passage. If we cannot confidently restate the entire passage, then we most likely don't yet know what it means. Bible interpreters get in trouble when they move to applying a passage before they fully understand it.

Application

Observation and interpretation should bring us to a point where we can be confident we have understood the writer's intended meaning. Such knowledge doesn't necessarily make us more like Christ. We must apply n the truth. Bible application builds the bridge between knowing and doing.

First, we must assess whether a given passage is even meant to change our lives. For instance, some passages, including Ephesians 6: 1 —3, are written to children. Such passages relate directly to your lives. Passages written to pastors, though, don't have a direct application for you.

Matthew 1:1–7 KJV 1900

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;

ASK: Why would we normally not read this passage for personal application? It seems informational rather than personal

Almost all passages either directly or indirectly tell us something about God. We can use those truths to understand God better and draw closer to Him. From Jesus' genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17, for instance, we can learn of God's love and sovereignty when we consider how He worked in the lives of those in Christ's line. Such truths are certainly applicable to our lives.

After we have determined whether a passage should affect our walk with the Lord, we must take steps to cause that to happen. God has not written His Word so we will be awash in guilt about our deficiencies, but so we will be equipped for good works (2 Tim. 3: 1 6, 17). Application involves asking ourselves, What am I doing now in light of this truth? What steps do I need to take to live out the truth? Application requires faith as we live out God's Word.

Christ taught the importance of both understanding and applying Scripture (Matt. 5:43-47). He ended His lesson with a note that perfection is our destination as believers (5:48). We won't be completely perfect until God glorifies us. But until then, we ought to be using God's Word to grow daily in Christlikeness.